Christmas Cards
by Robin Gills
Summary: Remus and Sirius receive Christmas cards from friends and family. The most notable from the Potter-Snape family.


Remus sat comfortably at their kitchen table drinking his tea in the modest three room cottage. Snow was falling lazily, a few miles outside of Oban, Scotland and onto the already snow covered ground. Remus had Christmas music playing from the muggle radio as he read the Daily Prophet.

Sirius lumbered in sleepily and headed straight for the coffee pot. He sat down next to his partner after filling a large mug and yawned. Remus didn't get so much as a "morning" until the cup was half empty. Remus smiled as the rest of the drink was finished, in which case, he received a kiss on the side of his mouth. Sirius eyes were still only half open and Remus heard the muffled "too damn early" to his response of his own good morning. Sirius refilled his mug and resumed his spot at the table. They both sat and ate breakfast peacefully for a while.

Once Sirius third cup was nearing its end an owl arrived, tapping at their kitchen window. Remus let it in, removed the letter from the avians' leg, fed it a treat and returned to his own seat. "We got a Christmas letter from Arthur and Molly Weasley." Remus said as he read the card. They'd already gotten a card from Bill and Fleur, Charlie and his family and from Ginny and Draco Malfoy-Weasley. He passed it to Sirius once he finished the long message about coming to their "small" get-together on Christmas Eve. Sirius read it and propped it up with the rest of the cards on the shelf above the fireplace in the kitchen.

Not long after the senior Weasleys' card arrived but a second. Remus noticed Fred or George's handwriting and passed it right to Sirius as he handed the owl a treat. As Remus predicted once Sirius hooked his thumb into the envelope it burst into confetti. Remus couldn't help but laugh at the mess. Sirius had confetti in his hair, coffee, and even his eyelashes. He glared at Remus who just laughed more. Sirius grabbed a handful of the decoration from the plies on the table and flung it at him. Remus just laughed as the confetti didn't make it very far. On closer inspection the green and red confetti were little flat elves and reindeer which actually go up and moved.

Sirius grumbled as several of the elves attempted to pull out strand of hair. Remus snagged his wand as little screams emitted from his tea. He rid the table and themselves of the little "helpers". Sirius retrieved two more letters from a pair of owls. The letters were from old friends from the order which had disbanded thirty years earlier after the fall of Voldemort at the hands of Harry Potter.

Sirius was finished reading one of the letters when Hedwig flew through the window left open by Sirius. Remus retrieved the letter and fed the bird. Hedwig was getting on in years and needed a bit of rest before she could return to Harry. Sirius picked her up and sat her next to their own owl, Nim to rest. Remus broke the seal and drew out a letter and a picture. Remus smiled as he saw the chaotic scene that unfolded within the photo.

Harry was sitting on the left side of the picture with the four month old baby boy Keon in his lap. Harry's head was turned towards two children who were running in and out of the picture and around the family. His mouth was moving as if to scold them. Oriane sat next to Harry attempting to catch one of the twins as they ran by her chair. Salica was standing behind Oriane and next Severus. Salica would take Aleta from Severus arms as he caught a five year old. The only one in the photo who was really posing was Thearo. He stood to the side of Oriane and was resting an arm on the back of the chair. He had a big grin on his face as he enjoyed the chaos.

Remus passed the photo to Sirius who immediately barked out laughing. He'd gotten use to the idea of Harry marring Severus since they'd been married for thirteen years. Remus turned to the related letter.

_Hi, this Thearo. I am 10 years old and I have a new pet bird. I wanted to call the bird Jebus but Papa wouldn__'__t let me so we call her Timmy. I like my bird but she doesn__'__t like me. I still have a year until I get to go to Hogwarts. _

_Oriane is 12 and is a second year at Hogwarts. She likes potions but I think she really likes transfiguration and just says she does so Papa doesn__'__t lecture us again._

_Salica is 13 and is a third year at Hogwarts. She says she like divination but only to give Dad and Papa a heart attack. Salica actually has curly hair but she straightened it for the picture. Teenagers._

_Verena is 7 and loves playing football. She even beats the boys! I think she__'__ll make a great beater in quidditch. _

_Keanna and Corin are 5 and are driving the rest of us crazy. Since I__'__m the oldest left at home, I__'__m their first target. Their preschool supervisors have quite a few choicy words for Dad when he picks them up. They never seem to listen to the lectures of __"__no magic__"__ in front of muggles speech. _

_Aleta is 2 and runs around the whole house too. It__'__s really hard to keep up with her and the twins. She likes to draw a lot and her pictures are all over the place._

_Keon is 4 months old. We don__'__t really know what he likes yet because he__'__s too young to tell us. I__'__m just happy there__'__s another boy in the family._

_My Dad is a lot older than Keon. He says he__'__s still writing his books but I never see him write anything except a grocery list. _

_My Papa looks old. As you can see from the picture he stresses a lot. He worries about his hair graying and Keanna, Corin, and Aleta getting into his work room, when Dad isn't__'__ looking. He also worries about __Salica and Oriane meeting boys at school._

_Happy Holidays!_

_Thearo, Salica, Oriane, Verena, Keanna, Corin, Aleta, Keon, Harry, and Severus._

Remus smiled The Snape-Potter Christmas card was always something to look forward too. He couldn't wait to see them at the Weasley's Christmas party and tell Severus that gray hair was nothing to worry about. Sometimes it even makes you sexier.


End file.
